


Moving On

by doobler



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Backstory, Original Character(s), Other, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 05:00:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20558642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doobler/pseuds/doobler
Summary: Finally, backstory for one of my most popular OCs





	Moving On

Johnny wasn't surprised to find Autumn where he usually went for a breather; sat on the edge of the canyon cliff, a good hundred yards from the base's entrance. He was kicking his legs, face turned to the clouds. The sun caught his hair like molten gold.  
"Hey there, champ," Johnny grinned purposefully dragging his feet through the dirt. "You thinkin' some big thoughts?"  
"Huh? Oh. Yeah."  
Johnny hesitated. The usual bravado was absent from his voice, replaced with somber melancholy. He chewed on his lower lip before kneeling to take the space beside the ex-mercenary.  
"What kinda thoughts?" Johnny pressed, delicately.  
"The conflicting kind," Autumn inhaled deeply. "Today is uh... My parents' anniversary. Last time I saw them, too. 'Bout... Twenty years ago."  
"Ah. You guys... Get along?"  
"As well as you could knowing your child's fucking insane," Autumn shook his head, laughing bitterly. "I was bringing them birds I'd strangled myself by the age of four."  
"Christ. I mean--"  
"Don't," Autumn turned his head to meet Johnny's gaze. "I was a really really fucked up kid, it's just a fact."  
They went quiet for a moment. Johnny was caught between reaching over for a comforting hug and simply keeping his distance. Autumn was still a little foreign to him, always very brash and confident, with nearly no regard for the danger around him. Then again, he'd never known Shinnok or Quan Chi or even Shao Khan. He'd led his own course, leagues away.  
"... Did you leave them?" Johnny finally broke the silence.  
"I dropped out of high school when I was 16," Autumn dragged his eyes back to the clouds overhead. "I was seriously unhinged. My own insanity was magnified by the gauntlets' influence. I'd been hearing that demon's whispers for eleven years at that point. It took that long to snap. I... Let myself go. Took my first life before I could even drive. Then I ran."  
Johnny swallowed. He barely blinked, watching Autumn's face.  
"You... Killed someone at 16?"  
Autumn hummed his affirmation.  
"I can't even remember her name. But I remember her face. She had stunning crystal blue eyes and hair like the night. I strangled her, like I had dozens and dozens of animals before."  
Autumn closed his eyes and shuddered.  
"I was so lost in my own insanity, all I could feel was happiness, watching the color drain from her face. I didn't even have the humanity to bury her, I left her behind the school and ran."  
Johnny folded his hands in lap. A chill ran down his spine.  
"Did you... Get help?"  
"Help?" Autumn barked a laugh. "You kidding me? Fuck no. I bailed. I ran and ran and ran until I couldn't and then I kept running. I lived on my own for like four years."  
"And then...?"  
Autumn quirked his brow, a little smile on his lips.  
"What's your motive, Cage?" He teased, eyes sparkling with mischief.  
"What, I can't attempt to make a connection with the guy who's seen my dick a few times now?"  
"I've done way more than see your dick, sweetheart."  
They shared a laugh and the conversation lightened, just a fraction.  
"Then... I met her," Autumn's voice went a bit cold. "I was twenty, barely scraping by, and she was twenty-four with a career and aspirations. Daisy Dusk. I always thought it was a fake name, had to be."  
Autumn scooped up a handful of red dirt, sifting it through his fingers. A gentle breeze carded through his hair.  
"I still don't know if she ever really loved me. We were married within a year of meeting."  
"... Married?" Johnny quirked his brow. "But aren't you--"  
"Right?" Autumn chuckled. "I was young and stupid. We had sex once and it was terrible. The relationship wasn't very physical. Mostly... Me doing mercenary work behind her back as she kept us afloat off her paycheck. It was good for about a month. Then..."  
"... Then?"  
Autumn gave a one-shoulder shrug.  
"She revealed her true colors. First, she was emotionally abusive, always screaming and shit. She got away with physical abuse for maybe a week before I just left. I'd realized I was gay anyways and knew we were bound to fail. She went berserk and I realized she was also an unhinged lunatic so... I walked away."  
"I'm assuming she's didn't take that well?" Johny half-smiled.  
"I didn't stick around to see," Autumn grinned back. "I moved on. Continued my work, unrestrained. Highlight of my career, honestly, a solid four years of damn good work. I started gaining a reputation and found myself at odds with the law and..."  
Autumn's eyes seemed to glaze over. His hand went lax and the last few pinches of sand and dirt drifted out of his palm on the wind. His voice was a little thick and he started blinking more rapidly.  
"Pierce was a detective, sort of. He was hot on my trail, all the damn time."  
Autumn inhaled between his teeth, like he was in pain.  
"We danced around each other for a year. He'd find me, I'd narrowly get away, we'd trade homoerotic quips and jabs, always chasing that next meeting. He... He was perfect. Charming, intelligent, beautiful. I... For the first time, I... Didn't want blood, I saw him and wanted... I wanted..."  
Johnny leaned in.  
"You wanted?"  
Autumn turned to face him again. His eyes were wide, brows drawn in. He looked ready to cry.  
"I wanted love," He choked. "I wanted to... To wake up with him in the morning, bring him breakfast in bed, take long walks holding hands-- I didn't ever think I'd marry again but fuck, I almost wanted to go that far with him, he was. He. He made me wanna be more than just a bloodthirsty killing machine. He made me wanna be human for the first fucking time in my miserable life."  
Very slowly, Johnny reached out, curling his fingers around Autumn's wrist. He squeezed gently.  
"What happened?" He spoke softly.  
"... I was ambushed," Autumn's voice was suddenly empty and cold. "Tempted with the job of a lifetime. The target was... He was a fucking monster-- a pedophile, con-artist, abuser, absolute scum. He was too evil. But the file also gave me express permission to do with him what I wanted so the bloodlust was so fucking strong, I couldn't think straight. I showed up to the warehouse to meet my client and..."  
Autumn inhaled slowly, his chest quaking.  
"Pierce was tied down to a chair, surrounded by these tough looking bastards. They let slip that they worked for Daisy, that I was repaying her for what I'd done, and they... They slit is throat. Right in front of me. I watched the light slowly fade from his eyes and..."  
Autumn pressed his face into his hands. He took deep shuddering breaths. It was a solid few minutes before he could speak.  
"All my life," He lamented. "Blood had been an almost beautiful thing in my eyes. The smell, the look, the taste. It set my nerves on fire. But then. I finally saw through everyone else's eyes. I felt terror. Disgust. Heartbreak. I finally understood."  
Sucking in a deep breath, Autumn exhaled loudly. He blinked away the tears, trying to regain his composure.  
"I ran. Like I always did. I didn't look back but I learned. I couldn't love. I can't. I'm... It's not... Meant for me. All I do is hurt people. But that clarity unlocked something in me."  
Autumn sat up straighter, his jaw set, his eyes steely.  
"The demon who'd plagued my every thought for nearly twenty years, in that moment, became my bitch. I no longer bowed to its seduction. It was merely a vessel of power and I used it however I pleased, with a clear mind for the first fucking time in my life. I was finally in control. Still full of bloodlust, still with a penchant for violence, but I would no longer be used."  
Autumn sighed and his shoulders hunched forward.  
"Blah, blah, blah, years passed, I'm thirty-six, I received an anonymous job offer that wound up being Shao Khan, an order to murder you all in cold blood but I was ignorant of all the shit you guys have been through so I befriended you instead and became a sorta good guy. The rest... Is history."  
"Damn," Johnny whistled, his face caught somewhere between empathetic and mournful. "I didn't think you'd gone through so much shit."  
"Eh, denial is bliss," Autumn tapped his chest. "I'll bottle it all up in here and someday, I'll die."  
They laughed again but the world felt a little brighter. Johnny opened his mouth, only to snap it shut as the walkie talkie in his pocket buzzed.  
"Mr.Cage! You're needed in the planning room!"  
"Duty calls," Johnny sighed, slowly rising to his feet. He offered his hand but Autumn declined. "You... Gonna be okay? Here? Alone?"  
"Yeah," Autumn nodded, smiling. "It's all off my chest now. I feel... Better. Thank you."  
"Hey, what can I say. I'm gorgeous and also a part time therapist."  
Autumn snickered, playfully swatting his leg. Johnny beamed, tilting his head to one side with a fond look on his face.  
"If you need me, or any of us--"  
"Yeah, yeah," Autumn returned his gaze to the clouds. "I know where to find you."  
Johnny let out a quiet sigh before picking up his feet and leaving. Autumn didn't look back but he didn't have to. He knew he was with friends.


End file.
